Ten Halloween Songs That Aren't As Lame As "The Monster Mash"
Published October 24, 2003
Sometimes you need a little music to set the mood. Maybe you're going to a Halloween party, maybe you're just eating little Snickers bars waiting for the doorbell to ring, but Bobby "Boris" Pickett just doesn't move you the way you need to be moved. Allow me to suggest a few good songs with supernatural content - witches, ghosts, or just minor chords and evil harmonies. This is largely stuff from the "Classic Rock" era, and not excessively obscure, I trust.
"Tam Lin" - Fairport Convention - Sandy Denny narrates a tale of midnight riders and fairy queens on Halloween while Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick and Dave Mattacks romp.
"Alison Gross" - Steeleye Span - Mid-70's Span is a wealth of songs about witches, demons, bloodletting and murder most vile. A fun little tune about the ugliest witch in the north country.
"Werewolves of London" - Warren Zevon - Okay, an obvious choice. His hair was perfect.
"I Put A Spell On You" - Screamin' Jay Hawkins - The original is the best, but CCR and Arthur Brown did fine versions, too.
"Walking On The Water" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - A nice level of spookiness here, without resorting to Charlie Daniels style ghost story telling.
"Flying Dutchman" - McKendree Spring - Electric violin and ghost stories just go together.
"The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" - Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac or Judas Priest - But Arthur Brown sings a top notch version on the Rattlesnake Guitar tribute album, too.
"Black Magic Woman" - Santana - Perhaps another obvious choice. Peter Green was one haunted dude...
"Tubular Bells" - Mike Oldfield - I'm not sure how spooky this really is aside from the "Exorcist" connection, but it always sounds good to me. You can probably find 10 or 15 minutes that sound adequately ominous for a CD-R project.
"Threnody For Souls in Torment" - Robert Fripp String Quintet - This is scary instrumental guitar music. King Crimson's done several scary instrumental pieces over the last 30 years ("Red", "Larks Tongues In Aspic Part II"), but this piece (with Trey Gunn and the California Guitar Trio) takes it up a notch.
And just a few bonus suggestion:
"Black Sabbath" - Black Sabbath
"Frankenstein" - Edgar Winter Group
"Fire Poem & Fire" - Crazy World of Arthur Brown
"Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan
"My Wife And My Dead Wife" - Robyn Hitchcock
"The Raven" - Alan Parsons Project
"Season Of The Witch" - Donovan
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" - Bauhaus
"Strange Brew" - Cream
"D.O.A." - Bloodrock
Oh, and if you really want "The Monster Mash", I'd recommend picking up the Bonzo Dog Band's version. Not that it's necessarily less lame than the original, but when Halloween is over you've got a Bonzo Dog Band album. Cuz those guys were brilliant, in case you didn't know...
(Amazon links to follow when "Search" at their website is working again...)
- Ten Halloween Songs That Aren't As Lame As "The Monster Mash"
- Published: October 24, 2003
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- Section: Music
- Writer: Hazy Dave
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I prefer Fleetwood Mac's version of "Black Magic Woman"; it's sounds more voodoo to me. But nobody ever agrees with me on that. Santana has pretty much cornered the market on that song.
"Black Sabbath", the original is great. There's also this bizarre cover by Type O Negative on the Black Sabbath tribute album, "Nativity In Black". They took a lot of liberties with the song, but it turned out pretty cool.
Blue Oyster Cult has a few songs about vampires, most notably "I Love the Night" and "Nosferatu" from the "Spectres" album. I guess "Godzilla" is not scary enough to qualify as a Halloween song.
If you really want to scare the kids, sit 'em down with Pink Floyd's "Careful With That Axe, Eugene".
And don't forget "Sympathy For the Devil".
Great list Dave and very fine additions JR - "Flying Dutchman"! I haven't heard that in ages. "Black Magic Woman" is one of the very few where I like different versions exactly equally: the voodoo element is there with the Mac, but Santana's is elegant and powerful at the same time.
For ghost songs you can't beat "LongBlack Veil" and The Band's in my fave.
I'm going to have to bust out my Lucifer's Friend album - the German proto-metal band had a pretty prolific career, but their first album is one of the lost wonders of the 20th century: heavy, spooky, melodic, atmospheric, freaking amazing. The title track seduces and terrifies simultaneously. I only have it on vinyl but I see Amazon has it in a reissue: a sublime secretion of early LZ, Black Sabbath, UFO, and Pink Fairies (damn, another one to talk about).
It is a crime against humanity that there is no McKendreee Spring available from Amazon
I love the Fleetwood Mac version of Black Magic Woman. I play it for people, tell them it's the Mac, and they stare at me like I've grown a third head.
Santana's is great too, but I like FMac's because it's less well known.
Richard Hell also did "Walking on the Water," although I don't know how scary it is.
The NY Dolls' "Frankenstein" is most definitely scary, though.
It's good to see CCR make your list. They do good spooky. I hope I never have to hear tubular bells the rest of my life though.
Thanks for all the comments and information, guys. (And the Amazon links, Eric!) eBay is a decent source for McKendree Spring CD's - German imports all. The compilation God Bless The Conspiracy is extremely good, not coincidentally including 6 of the 8 tracks from McKendree Spring 3. (Unfortunately, "Flying Dutchman" is one of the two songs omitted.)
Also, I've been reminded that Al Kooper did an extended version of "Season Of The Witch" with Steve Stills on Super Session. And some syndicated radio show played John Fogerty's "Eye Of The Zombie" this weekend. Good tune, and it reminded me of Roky Erickson's excellent "I Think Of Demons" and "I Walked With A Zombie", the latter also available in a REM cover version Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye...
I love "the Monster Mash." But what about Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein," and Patti Smith's "Ghost Dance"? A friend had a great mix of standards and old tunes that all have such references in the titles, although few of them actually had anything scary in the content. Some of them are, as I remember:
I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
I'm Scared (by Sarah Vaughn)
Afraid of Love (by Cab Calloway)
This Masquerade
Witchcraft
Screamin and Cryin
I don't recall the others, but I will try...
There is a song which scared the crap out of me -- "The Kids" from Lou Reed's "Berlin" album. I was listening to a tape while dozing on the couch. I was half asleep when "The Kids" came on, and woke up to a child yelling Mommy, mommy.
Also, any list should have The Cure on it. Seventeen Seconds perhaps.
Plus there was a band from Ottawa (can't remember their name) who did a parody called "Truman Capote's Dead" ("he wrote In Cold Blood / and Breakfast at Tiffanies").
Not Halloween-related, but scared-by-music related:
A Vinnie Vincent Invasion album (don't remember which, too lazy to look it up) scared the living daylights out of me when I was a teenager. Not because it was so cheesy; no, because I would often listen to music as I went to sleep and had chosen to listen to this as I went to sleep. Little did I realize (having always stopped the tape at the last song but not having done so as I was falling asleep) that after the last song and some silence, Vinnie's voice, low and creepy, suddenly growls, "Hey, tell all of your friends about us!" That's not something you want to hear as you drift off to sleep, let me tell you.
The official athem for halloween is of course, "Back In Black" by AC/DC.
If you disagree, the song itself will kick your ass.
If you're going to include "Nosferatu" by BOC, you have to include "Screams" of their debut as well. Something seriously creepy about that one. And for something of theirs that's much more recent, try "Harvest Moon".
I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Halloween" or "Halloween II" from The MIsfits. Those were the first songs that popped into my head when I read the topic of the post.
Oh please, people: Country Death Song by The Violent Femmes. They just threatened to add a week to my hospital stay, jumping up and down screaming as I was that nobody had listed that song before me. And I think they were serious.
Nobody's mentioned yet "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" by Redbone.
The Torture Never Stops", Frankz Zappa and the Mothers of Invention . . . 9 plus minutes!!!!!
"We Only Come Out At Night" by Smashing Pumpkins - awesome halloween song used in many halloween plays and such...
Could you review this Non MonsterMash oriented Halloweeh CD Or refer it to someone who can? It's very original and the lyrics are great.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/davidh2
Hello There:
What about "Voodoo" by Amber from the CD "My Kind of World"? It has a dark New Orleans kind of vibe!
Listening Station:
http://www.amber-mcc.com/main.htm#
Hey! Great suggestions and it's comin around again. I had Monster Mash in my head the other day thinking about that Cheers episode and found this post looking for when it originally came out.
I did a mix of this theme a couple years ago and have a couple to add:
"Pet Semetary" by the Ramones (regards Dee Dee)
"Leucretia McEvil" by Blood, Sweat, & Tears
"Zombies Walk the Cardboard City" by SoHo (an instrumental for y'all)
"Living Dead" by Plasmatics
"Possum Kingdom" by The Toadies
and what about "Everyday is Halloween" by Ministry...
My honorable mentions just for twistedness:
"Mr. Pink Eye" by The Cure
"Circus Mystery" by Mojo Nixon
"Looney Tune" by Alice Cooper (among others; "Dead Babies", "Cold Ethyl" et al...
"River Blindness" by J. Geils
"The Momur" by Adrian Belew
"When Pink Turns to Blue" by Husker Du
When does the Boxed Set come out...?!
Sounds like I had better get busy on a new mix to scare the kids with this year!!!
The Cure's Lullaby...getting stalked and eaten by a giant spider
I am a radio programmer and I was looking for some alternative songs to play on Halloween night. Thanks to this growing list, it should be a fun night to be listening. I'd like to add Ozzy Osbourne's Bark at the Moon and Murders in the Rue Morgue & The Number of the Beast and Transylvania by Iron Maiden.
Not scarey, but Love Potion #9 surely is in the spirit, so to speak. Then there's a little ditty (forget who did it) about Maxwell's Silver Hammer....
Bauhaus' "bela Lugosi's Dead" has been on my short list of Halloween songs for years. Glad to see I'm not the only fan.
Others:
Concrete Blonde - "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)"
Squirrel Nut Zippers - "Hell"
Oingo Boingo - "Dead Man's Party"
Sting (surprise!) - "Moon Over Bourbon Street"
Dave Mathews - "Grave Digger"
AC/DC - "Highway to Hell"
Seems like Johnny Cash should have something other than "Ring of Fire"..."Hurt" sounds right even if it is off-topic.
Have a creepy Halloween.
Great list everyone - really deep and cool. It might be a lame addition, but how about Rockwell's "somebody's watching me" ?
I do a halloween show on my radio station every year and searched for a site like this. i found songs that i already had on my list but a few that i did not such as the Fripp tune and Flying Dutchman. Great suggesstions.
Here are some but not all that are on my list that you do not have in your blog:
bloodrock - breach of lease
alice cooper - black ju ju (evil sounding tune)
spooky tooth - evil woman
judas priest - the ripper (sad wings of destiny lp)
just some as i said. some great suggestions in the responses above too including zappas' the toruture never stops.
cheers,
DJ Craig
Opeth "The Grand Conjuration"
Cannibal Corpse "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty"
I'm not really suprised these two have not been added. They're new and metal so...
The second one is a band about zombies making a song about zombies, the growling and low guitar parts are pretty creepy.
But the first one I like best for a Halloween song. Equipped with awesome growls, strange whispers, creepy keyboards, and demonic lyrics; this one spooks me at night in my car sometimes, not to mention it has great length and is progressive so it has good "meat" to listen to.
ACDC "Hell's Bells"
Iron Maiden "The Number of the Beast"
Black Sabbath "Children of the Grave"
anything off of marilyn manson's "antichrist superstar" album. especially "man that you fear" even though most people dig it when you play "beautiful people" and/or "sweet dreams."
what, no White Zombie?
fucking philistines...
::insert wink here::
Excelsior?
All time scary song: "It's Halloween" by the Shaggs. Un-capital-B-elievable - an otherworldly performance if there ever was one.
I thought of one or two. Gimme Shelter sounds like the soundtrack to some sort of dreadful sitzeeation, don't it?
Mannish Boy has some very fine voudou in it too.
I got a black cat bone
I got a mojo too
I got a John Lee Conkaroo
I'm gonna mess with you.
How about
"Wicked old Witch" by John Fogerty
"Deja VooDoo" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd
"Hypnotized" by Fleetwood Mac
"Orisha Dance", "Yellow Moon", "VooDoo" Nevilles
What about the brilliant Zombina and the Skeletones?
Loads of their tracks are great for a spooky halloween
Nobody likes you when you're dead
Can't break a dead girls heart
Frankenlady
Horror High School
or what about 'Feed my Frankenstein' ALice Cooper rocks
Hallowe'en by the Dream Syndicate - stunning.
Halloween by the Shaggs - gives a whole new dimension to the term "scary."
Forgot "Dead or Alive" by Oingo Boingo. Along with about three quarters of their other stuff...
I've been thinking about this all day actually, I'd have to go with Alice Cooper's "Feed My Frankenstein", Type O Negative's "Black No. 1" and possibly Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13's "Scary Song".
Great list and comments. I'd recommend "The Unquiet Grave" by Gryphon to go with Fairport Convention & Steeleye Span. What's Halloween without crumhorns & sackbuts?
I also recommend:
David Lindley - Werewolves Of London (rocksteady)
Gary Hoey - Frankenstein (shreds it)
Roky Erickson - Night Of The Vampire (anything else from The Evil One will work)
Mel Torme - Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives
The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf
Bo Diddley - Bo Meets The Monster
Rocket From The Crypt - I Drink Blood
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Halloween
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Halloween Spooks
The Upsetters - Vampire
S.C.O.T.S. - Werewolf
Yea..It was a pretty damn good list. Here's some great tunes to spice up your ghoulish evening:
John Carpenter - "Halloween Theme"
Helloween - "Halloween"
King Diamond - "Halloween"
Overkill - "Frankenstein"(Edgar Winter Cover)
Fantomas - "The Devil Rides Out"
The Misfits - "Halloween","Pumpkinhead" & "Monster Mash"
Tiger Army - "Fog Surrounds"
on a classical bent, check out Franz Liszt's "Mephisto Waltz" It's not horror inducing exactly - but it has a certain creepiness to it. It's a little more intense if you see the movie by the same name, starring Alan Alda and Jacqueline Bisset, a bizarre story about a music journalist (Alda)who has a chance to interview his hero, a famed pianist. The virtuoso however, has different plans - quite macabre. Talk about your deals with the Devil!
And did anyone mention that Charlie Daniels song, "Devil Went Down to Georgia"?
I finally found a decent audio link (Classical.com - search on Mephisto Waltz - Waltz#1 'Dance in the Village Inn)
Another great source of spooky Halloween songs is a band called "The 69 Eyes" Very gothicy and if you have the ear drums for it Cradle of Filth simply is Halloween...all the time. Don't forget Swan Lake. It's used in the open of Dracula with Bela Lugosi and a couple of other old monster movies. Makes me think of Halloween now. There's a wacky little song by the White Stripes called "Little Ghost" that could qualify as well. A lot of the suggestions being made are great! Hope to see more.
Somehow I think we have to wedge in the Grateful Dead, "Dire Wolf" and maybe "Friend of the Devil"...?
Wanted to recommend another few songs....."October" by London After Midnight..great song. "All Hallows Eve" by Type O Negative. "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies.
Happy Halloween everybody!
Oh Man, how could we miss "Season of the Witch" by Donovan and "Witchy Woman" by the Eagles?! Too obvious.
"Welcome to my Nightmare" by Alice Cooper is also a must.
My badysitting sister used to lock me in her bedroom and force me to listen to "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors, which tweaked me out seriously. Gets an honorable mention in my book, just for underlying spookiness...
There's an artist called Voltaire that has cool, spooky songs. One called "Brains" is awesome and would be a lot of fun in any Halloween collection. His others have creepy or paranormal subjects as well. check him out.
What? Nobody mentioned BOC's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"?
Some further classical additions: Night on Bald Mountain (Rimsky-Korsakov), Rite of Spring (Stravinsky), In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg), In Memoriam Dresden 1945 (Daniel Bukvich), The Divine Comedy Suite (Robert W. Smith), 'Mars' from The Planets (Holst).
Indie horrorpop rockers Schoolyard Heroes give us Curse of the Werewolf and Sincerely Yours, Jonathan Harker.
And anything by Black Eyes and Neckties, particularly Walk Like a Zombie.
Ncik Cave anyone? The entire Murder Ballads album is scary as hell.
Dang! Almost forgot the O Fortuna section of The Carmina Burana!
Ooohh! "O Fortuna!" Love it, especially this part:
"Hac in hora sine mora
corde pulsum tangite;
quod per sortem
sternit fortem,
mecum omnes plangite!"
Best at full volume.
Oh, I like the Grieg too.
Ooohh! "O Fortuna!" Love it, especially this part:
"Hac in hora sine mora
corde pulsum tangite;
quod per sortem
sternit fortem,
mecum omnes plangite!"
Best at full volume.
Oh, I like the Grieg too.
I'm a volunteer dj at a puny li'l Community Access station here in the wilds of Central Illinois, and here are some of the tunes I roll out every Halloween.....
"Banshee Beach", the Ghastly Ones
"Bloodletting", Concrete Blonde
"Boris The Spider", the Who
"Cannibal's Hymn", Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
"Creature From The Black Lagoon", Dave Edmunds
"Demonologist", Alice Donut
"Demons", Yo La Tengo
"Dig It Up", the Hoodoo Gurus
"A Fistful Of Horror", the Bomboras
"Hall Of The Mountain King", the Who
"Halloween", the Dream Syndicate
"Halloween", Sonic Youth
"The Halloween Song", the Reverend Horton Heat
"Hamburger Lady". Throbbing Gristle
"Horse Latitudes", the Doors
"House On The Hill", the Mummies
"How Come I Can't See You In My Mirror?", Tonio K
"Hungry Cannibals", Radio Birdman
"I Ain't Superstitious", Howlin' Wolf
"Ichabod", th' Legendary Shack Shakers
"If You Have Ghosts", John Wesley Harding
"I Hear Voices", Screamin' Jay Hawkins
"I'm Gonna Kill My Baby Tonight", the Mummies
"Ingeborg, Mistress Of The Dark", Maggie Estep
"Inhuman", Sonic Youth
"I Walked With A Zombie", Roky Erickson
"I Want Candy", the Count Bishops
"Jack The Ripper, the Horrors
"The Jezebel Spirit", Brian Eno & David Byrne
"Let The Devil In', TV On The Radio
"Meet Ze Monsta", PJ Harvey
"Mr. Hyde, the Coach Whips
"Narrator", the Hindu Love Gods
"No Costume, No Candy", the Swingin' Neckbreakers
"Nosferatu", the Blue Oyster Cult
"Pardon This Coffin", Jon Rauhouse
"Paris 1919", John Cale (Live solo version, "In Their Own Words, vol II")
"The Petrified Florist", Lambchop
"Psycho", Leon Payne
"Season Of The Witch", Richard Thompson, Luna
"Something To Be Scared Of", the Mekons
"Strychnine", the Sonics, the Surf Trio
"Tiab Guls", Throbbing Gristle
"Timothy", the Buoys
"There's Always Room On The Broom", the Liars
"Werewolves Of London", Warren Zevon (Live version from "Stand In The Fire")
"What's Behind The Mask?", the Cramps
"When You Die, Your Eyes Pop Out", the Donner Party
"The Witch", the Sonics, the Mono Men, the Coach Whips
"Witch Queen Of New Orleans", the Pirates
"Witches Song", Marianne Faithfull
"Workin' In The Cemetary", the Aquavelvets
"Young, Fast And Scientific", the Dictators
The "Young Frankenstein" theme
...What the Hell, right? You Bet.....
p.s. - and a compilation album, "Closed On Account Of Rabies" - Christopher Walken, Marianne Faithfull, Ken Nordine, Iggy Pop and others reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe. How ya gonna top that?
Any one heard Bray's "Dracula?"
And Linkin Park's "What Have I done?"
A couple nice newbies.
Lover of the Bayou ......The Byrds
How about Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's 'Sweet Cousin', which speaks of a spookily seductive relative boasting 'gypsy eyes and a witches' brew', while 'telling full moon stories of things unknown'. Haunting and captivating little song, from their mid'70s 'Slipstream' album.
On a more fun note, the late, great Sandy Denny, First Lady of British Folk, did a good version of 'Let's Jump The Broomstick'. Anyone who hasn't yet heard this woman's amazing voice, do yourself a favour and check her out...
Oh, had to add the wonderful Peter Hammill/Van Der Graaf Generator's 'Still Life', a creepy prog rock number. On their 'An Introduction to...' album, for interested parties. Not specifically about Halloween, but the ending in particular has a sinister ambience and lyrics.
Came across one the other day:
Monster au Go-Go by the Suicide Commandos.
It's enough to get you kicked out of the Longhorn in 1980.
I have to admit, thanks to you guys my list is qute a bit longer but I think you guys forgot a really obvious one that would scare any kid.
This is Halloween by Marilyn Manson
I also really enjoy Ghost Town by The Specials, the time warp, spooky by classics iv, and probably one of my favorites even if it isn't scary - Goblin Girl by Frank Zappa
i always found tempus vernum to be a really good halloween song. lol. listen to it and you'll see what i mean.
Aphex Twin's 'Come to Daddy' would certainly scare most trick or treaters as they approach the door. "I WANT YOUR SOUL!"
More in the classical vein, but very creepy... Hector Berlioz: Dreams of a Witches Sabbath
I have a few songs to add to the list. I do not think any of these songs are as lame as the "The Monster Mash" - however, everybody's taste in music is different. I hope you find these songs to be suitable for your Halloween party, radio show, etc.
1) "Vampires, Mummies And The Holy Ghost" by Jimmy Buffett - a faster up tempo song with a "Caribbean" flavor. Pairs well with "Hell" by the Squirle Nut Zippers
2) "Desperation Samba (Halloween In Tijuana)" by Jimmy Buffett
3) "Spooky" an alternate version by Bill Wyman & The Rhythm Kings
4) "I Put A Spell On You" an alternate version by Bill Wyman & The Rhythm Kings
5) "Take The Devil" and "Good Day In Hell" by the Eagles
6) "Brain Damage" by Pink Floyd
7) "Zigzagging Through Ghostland" by The Radiators
the following are Blues genre songs:
8) "Let The Devil Drive" and "Murder" by Jay Stulo
9) "She Got the Devil in Her" by Buddy Guy
10) "Black Witch" by Otis Taylor
11) "The Voodoo In You" and "Devil At My Door" by Jim Nalls
12) "The Healer" by John Lee Hooker - eerie music but not reaally halloween verses.
also,
13) "I Want To Be Evil" by Bill Wyman & The Rhythm Kings is kind of lame but you may like it
14) "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky" is a great halloween song but avoid the version by The Outlaws as they ignore the whole last verse of the song. The version by Jonny Cash is very good.
There was an old woman all skin and bones &
The Ghost of John.
"She's a Real Good Kisser (for a Zombie)" by The Jangle - destined to be a Halloween rock classic.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/9483)
"The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" - Don't forget the Melvin's apocalyptic take, from 1999's The Maggot.
"Threnody For Souls in Torment" - Robert Fripp String Quintet is actually only Fripp and Gunn. Not to nitpick, just to inform. And yes, this is indeed one of the scariest things I've ever heard.